STAR TREK ADVENTURER
by owenlars1
Summary: A new series based on the Star Trek concept. One character is from a next generation episode, Simon Tarses, he is the main character of this new series. I hope to add new chapters as I write them.


Adventurer - 001 - Initiations

The large vacuum doors hissed open and crewman Simon Tarses, newly appointed medical technician of the Galaxy-class starship _Adventurer_, stepped into Main sickbay, his hand tightly gripping the strap of his medkit shoulder bag. He was both excited and nervous as he walked through the oval room which buzzed with the noise of the medical staff, who were dispersed in small groups throughout it. He looked about him at the impressively sophisticated instrumentation. _Adventurer _boasted, along with other superiorities, the largest and most advanced sickbay of any starship ever built. This was one of the reasons why Simon had applied for the position. Yet he hadn't dreamed of actually attaining it, not after the incident on board the _Enterprise_ which he feared would end his starfleet career.

He approached a small group of staff who were engaged in an animated discussion.

"Excuse me, please" he said politely.

A young woman turned to face him. She said nothing but gave him a warm smile. Simon felt his cheeks burn as he blushed crimson red.

"Um...I..I'm looking for Doctor Richards," he stammered.

The young woman continued to smile at him, studying his neat symmetrical features, his little pointed ears and his perfectly groomed dark hair.

"Yes, we're all waiting for his arrival" she said suddenly. "He wanted to address us altogether. Shouldn't be long now, " she reassured him.

"Thankyou" Simon replied and gave an awkward smile.

"No problem" she said, returning his smile. She turned to face her friends and continued her conversation.

Simon walked over to the sickbay's office where about half a dozen or so medical staff were patiently queued. At the desk sat a female medical officer who appeared to be part-human, part-ktarian. She was uploading duty rosters from the medical database into each of their PADDs.

Simon decided to join the queue, and as he did so, the vacuum doors hissed open once more. All heads turned as Dr. Richards entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late folks!" he apologized quite cheerfully, and made his way to the top end of the bay, where a work station was positioned just outside his office. The noise in the room died down as he turned to face his audience. Simon noticed that the middled aged doctor had a very friendly, yet careworn face, as if he had been hiding some great secret.

"Thankyou all for coming" he began, "and welcome to _Adventurer'_s Main Medical bay. I'm Doctor Richards and this is Medical Officer Luvena Kryllus, " he said pointing to the woman who had been uploading the data, and now stood at the office entrance. She nodded in response but her expression remained guarded.

"Please don't hesitate to come and see either of us at any time if you need help or advice" he said reassuringly. "Now," he continued "as you know, _Adventurer_ is one of the finest Galaxy-class starships of our time. I assure you that you are a small percentage of the starfleet applicants, so well done to all of you for attaining your positions here." He gave a noticeably nervous gulp. "Now, the doctors who will serve as heads of the auxiliary medical bays are Doctor Dakus Tolan of bay two, Doctor Oben Brax of bay three and Doctor Ursula Hunter of bay four." The Betazoid, Bolian and Terran born doctors all nodded as they were announced. "Now as you know" he continued, " Main Medical Bay is on deck two, whereas bays two, three and four are situated on decks eight, fourteen and twenty-one respectively. Only Main Medical bay will be operational twenty four hours. The auxiliary bays will normally be operational for around six hours a day, but they will _all_ be manned in the event of a crisis. Now does anyone have any questions?"

A young man from a boisterous group of crewmen put his hand up. "If we're just a small percentage of the applicants" he said, "how did _Maxwell Prince_ get his position?" The room broke out into vivacious laughter.

"Thanks very much!" retorted crewman Prince as he folded his arms. Maxwell Prince had been a notorious joker back at Starfleet Academy, and not many took him seriously. No one guessed that he would pass the training, let alone obtain a position on a starship.

"I'm sure he must have done _something_ right" Doctor Richards replied light-heartedly. "Now, does anyone have any _sensible _questions?" A murmur of laughter circled the room once more.

The young woman who had spoken to Simon put up her hand. "Doctor Richards" she asked, "is it true _Adventurer_ is going to be exploring the Enigma Zone?" The room quietened to a complete hush.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to dicuss that.." he said hesitantly "...but I believe you will be informed when the Captain briefs you this afternoon at 14.00hrs."

An atmosphere of apprehension subdued the room. No one had any more questions.

"Ok, well thankyou for coming" Doctor Richards continued. "If you have not yet obtained your duty roster from Miss Kryllus then please do so...and if you can, please be at your posts at least fifteen minutes before your first shift. I look forward to getting to know all of you soon."

With that he moved from the workstation, mopping his brow and sought to catch up with the three head doctors.

The queue for data uploading resumed and a moment later, Simon stood in front of Miss Kryllus. He handed her his PADD and she began to upload it. Monitoring the upload she caught sight of the name on the screen. Impulsively she glanced up at Simon, clearly disturbed. "Tarses" she said, almost under her breath but loud enough for Simon to hear. Aware of his attention she raced her eyes back to the screen, and quickly pulled herself together. A few seconds later the upload was complete and she handed over the portable device.

"Here you are Mr. Tarses", she said as aloof as possible, but keeping her eyes cast down. "Your duties begin at 09.00 hours tomorrow morning."

Simon moved from the queue and looked at his PADD.

''REPORT TO DOCTOR RICHARDS : MAIN MEDICAL BAY AT 09.00 HRS'' it read.

Simon was a medical technician. At least that was what his position on board the _Enterprise_ had been. He was not sure _exactly_ what his position was to be on _Adventurer._ His letter of acceptance had been non too specific. Still, he had been glad to have been accepted at all.

He turned to leave but a hand on his shoulder halted him and he sensed someone peering over at his PADD.

"Hey, what time does your duty start?" a voice asked. It was Maxwell Prince. Simon did not know him; Max was fresh from the academy.

"Um, 0900hrs" Simon replied.

"0900?" Max remarked. "How did you manage that? I start at 0500! I hate early mornings!"

Simon went red and felt a little awkward. "I..." he began.

"Hey, it's not _your_ fault" Max interupted. "Anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter, it's dark in space, _whatever_ time you get up!"

Max smiled warmly, amused at his own joke and held out his hand. " I'm Max" he said, "but I guess you know that already" he continued, suddenly looking a little embarrassed.

"Simon" Simon responded nervously, shaking Max's hand. "Simon Tarses."

"Nice to meet you Simon Tarses" Max said smiling again.

"Say, do you fancy meeting up later in the mess hall for a drink? Say..18.00hrs?"

Simon gulped. "Um...well, I..." he began.

"Don't worry if you can't..." Max shrugged, he was used to being refused. "I..I'll catch up with you again." He smiled and walked off, almost backing into Miss Kryllus' work station.

Simon watched him leave through the vacuum doors. He had always found it difficult meeting new people. He feared he would be rejected before the other person really got to know him. His fear stemmed from his Romulan heritage, given away by his little pointed ears. They had been the source of much ridicule throughout his young life back on Mars colony, and since the incident on board the _Enterprise_, fear of his reputation preceding him had only compounded his anxiety. Before he arrived on _Adventurer _he had decided that it would be best to keep to himself as much as possible. The less people he knew the less he would have to confess. He felt a little guilty now though because Max had been friendly and dispite his smile he had sensed Max's disappointment. There was something about Max that was very open and sincere, and he now wished he had been brave enough to accept his offer.

As he thought, his eyes fell upon Doctor Hunter, the female Head Doctor of medical bay four. She appeared to have been crying and Doctor Richards was handing her a handkerchief. Doctor Richards put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her and said something, but Simon couldn't make out what it was. She wiped her eyes, smiled bravely and after a few more words from him, she headed to the doors and exited. Dr. Richards turned around in Simons direction, worry written all over his face. Their eyes met and Simon quickly looked down with embarrassment, feeling as if he had been spying on the two of them. He decided he had better go, and turned to exit. He was halted in his tracks though by Dr. Richards.

"Mr. Tarses?" Dr. Richards inquired.

"Yes, Sir" Simon replied.

"Good to finally meet you Mr. Tarses." They shook hands.

"Me Sir?" Simon asked quizzically.

"I should explain" Dr. Richards continued, "I wanted to meet with you as soon as I could." He looked around him. "Perhaps we should go into my office." He pointed to Simon to lead the way. Simon suddenly was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of apprehension. He assumed he was going to get a dressing down.

They entered the office. It was quiet inside, the noise of the medical bay kept out by the office's plexi-glass walls. Dr. Richard's noted the look on Simon's face.

"I don't mean to alarm you, Mr. Tarses" Dr. Richard's said. "I just wanted to say that I have been informed of your past history and as far as _I'm_ concerned that's where it belongs. I've spoken to Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher of the _Enterprise_ and both of them couldn't recommend you highly enough. But I also wanted to add that I know how people can _be_ and to let you know that if you have any problem in regard to this, any at all, that I will unswervingly support you. I will not tolerate injustice or prejudice. I view all of my staff with the highest regard, some of them I even consider as family. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, so that you felt you could always approach me, anytime for any reason."

It was a heartwarming speech and Simon felt a lump in his throat. Only his parents had ever given him support like this and it was a great relief to know that _someone_ was on his side.

"Thankyou" he replied. "I appreciate that, most sincerely. And I assure _you_, Sir, that I will never give less than my best. I won't let you down."

Dr. Richards smiled warmly. "I know you won't Simon" he said softly. "When's your first shift?"

"0900 hrs tomorrow morning, Sir"

"I look forward to working with you, Mr. Tarses."

"Likewise Sir"

"Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have so many people to see."

They exited the office together, striding off towards more medical personel. Simon exited medical bay with a smile on his face. He hadn't felt so good in a long time since he had heard of his acceptance.

Having picked up his belongings from the cargo bay holds, he headed for his quarters on deck twelve. As the door opened he paused. Were _these_ his quarters? He checked his PADD. Yes, the PADD confirmed it. He entered the room, looking about him, still in disbelief. Surely these were the quarters of an officer or even the Captain. They were certainly much larger than his quarters on board the Enterprise had been.

He put his bags down and walked over to the large plexi-glass window which afforded a captivating view of the planet Jupiter below. The immense orange globe hung majestically in the pitch black of space; its huge red spot glowing with activity.

Simon pulled a chair up to face the window and reclined.

"Computer." It beeped in readiness. "Dim lights...and play Albinoni's adagio." It was Simon's favourite piece of music. The lights dimmed and the noble melody began to play, adding to the ethereal beauty of Jupiter's backdrop.

"I can hardly believe its fourteen and a half thousand miles away" he mused to himself. "It just doesn't seem real."

In his own little world he soon lost track of the time, and as Shostakovich's second movement of Piano concerto No.2 ended, he peacefully nodded his head and fell fast asleep.

He was awoken by a familiar voice. It took him a few seconds to realize that the voice wasn't coming from someone in his room. It was coming over the loudspeakers and it was Captain Isaacs voice!

"Oh no!" Simon said to himself, realizing he should have met in cargo bay three with all of the medical staff. As he hurried out of his room and towards the turbo lift he managed to catch bits of Captain Isaac's speech - congratulations on selection, the names of the senior staff, something about turbo lift 4 being out of operation?

As he stood outside cargo bay three, the doors hissed open and over 400 crewman turned to see who had arrived late. Simon felt like he had been stabbed by hundreds of pairs of eyes and his cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. He instantly wanted to walk back out again but quickly decided to slip in at the back of the assembly. Slowly, all eyes began to face forward again, except one pair to his immediate right, he turned his head slightly- it was the girl whom he had spoken to in medical bay, and she was grinning at him again. As they both looked forward, Captain Isaac's rambling suddenly became more interesting.

"Now, I can confirm the rumours of a mission to Sector 28404, more commonly known as the _Enigma Zone _as being true. Some of you may have heard of the peculiar cases of the crew onboard the _Strider, _when it traversed the zone, almost forty years ago. No starfleet vessel has been near that sector ever since. Adventurer's first mission will be to explore this sector and to locate any sources of these effects. Of course, we are much better protected than the _Strider_, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Nevertheless extreme caution will be demonstrated at all times.

_Adventurer_ will leave space dock shortly at 1500hrs and eta at Sector 28404 will be in four days and 6 hours time. In that time, our main priority will be for all sections to prepare as much as is possible, all sections will be given further instruction by their heads before duty shifts. _Adventurer _is scheduled to stay in Sector 28404 continuously for three months, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. In two weeks, we are to be joined by _Adventurer_'s sister ship, _Explorer_.

I have _full_ confidence in this crew, and that _Adventurer_ will return with every success. Thankyou."

As crewmen began to file out of the cargo bay, Simon could feel eyes on him again.

"So, did you fall asleep?" the girl to his right asked, half joking, half concerned.

Simon blushed and felt foolish. He nodded with embarrassment.

She smiled at Simon, a little curious and already fond of this shy crewman.

"I'm Lori" she said, holding out her hand.

"Simon" Simon replied, a little awkward with his handshake.

"So, which bay will you be working in?" she asked.

"Bay 1"

"Ah, with Doctor Richards. I'm jealous" she said smiling again, observing his reaction.

A friend of hers came up. "Are you coming Lori?" she asked.

"Bye Simon. See you around" Lori said, as they walked off together.

After a fantastic meal of roast chicken and vegetables, courtesy of the replicator, Simon sat in his chair by the window in his quarters and thought about the day. _Adventurer_ had overwhelmed him. He couldn't wait for the adventure to begin and to start travelling the stars. He wondered what it was going to be like to work for Dr. Richards. He had seemed friendly, and caring too. Look how he had helped Dr. Hunter when she was crying. Why though _had_ Dr. Hunter been crying? What could have possibly upset her? Perhaps he would never know. And then there was the enigmatic Miss Kryllus who never seemed to smile. Why had she seemed so flustered when she read his name? Did she know about him, his past, his mistake? But how could she?

Then there was Lori. She seemed ok but he couldn't quite work out if she was teasing him or being friendly. She smiled a lot though. He was glad she had been there in the cargo bay, she had helped to relax him, after his highly embarrassing entrance. He suddenly thought of Max. He remembered how everyone had laughed at him, and yet he didn't _seem_ to be that bad a person. Max had been quick to jump to the conclusion that he didn't want to join him. Perhaps Max really needed a friend. He looked at the time, it was 18.30hrs.

"Computer" he prompted, "State the whereabouts of Ensign Max..um...Maxwell Prince."

"Ensign Maxwell Prince is in the mess hall" it replied, in its monotone voice.

Simon wasn't quite sure what to do. Maybe Max had gone with some other friends, and Simon was a little apprehensive of meeting lots of people. Perhaps he should go and sit somewhere quiet in the mess hall first, just to see the situation. What if Max though called him over to meet everyone? He almost decided not to go, but somehow he felt it was right to make the effort. He didn't have to stay long. It had been a long day afterall.

The mess hall doors hissed open and Simon entered the large crescent shaped room. It was quiet and the main lights were subdued. The blue light of the bar bathed most of the room and cast its ambient light onto the few who sat at the tables. They were mostly in twos and threes, but at the front of the room, near one of the large windows sat a lonely figure. Simon could tell it was Max.

Simon walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. He sat on the edge of a bar stool and looked over to the slumped figure, wondering what he was going to say. Max's figure didn't move much. Maybe he shouldn't disturb him. But then again Max had seemed to want him to come. The barman served Simon his drink and he walked over to the lonely figure. He was nervous and didn't know what to say.

"May I join you?" he enquired, approaching Max from the side.

Max looked up quickly. He hadn't heard Simon approach. "Simon" he said startled and almost knocked his own drink over. Simon stood politely, waiting to be invited.

"Please, join me" Max said earnestly.

Simon sat down to Max's right, he felt a little awkward. Max tried to smile but sadness was written all over his face.

"Are...are you ok?" Simon asked worriedly.

Max looked down, contemplative, then back up at Simon. "I'm ok" he said, not very concincingly. Then he added, much more enthusiastically "I'm really glad you came."

Simon gave an awkward smile. He felt he had better explain.

"I...I _wanted_ to come, when you asked me" he said. "It's just that...I'm not very good at..making friends and socializing."

Max pointed at the empty chairs around him. "Apparently, me neither" he said. They shared a smile.

"I asked about twenty people, you know" Max added, a little discouraged. "So I _really am_ grateful you came."

Simon felt guilty. "I guess everyone was tired" Simon tried. "You know, they wanted to be ready for their first shift."

Max nodded. "That must be it" he said smiling, knowing it wasn't. "So, Simon Tarses" he continued, "I don't remember you from the academy. Have you already served in the federation?"

Simon gulped and his stomach churned. He knew he would eventually have to explain his past, but he wasn't ready for it so soon. He gave a nod and winced, unable to hide his feelings. He took a deep breath. "It's a long story..." he said. "I..I made a bad mistake."

"What did you do?" Max asked, intrigued as to what this perfectly quiet crewman could have done to look so worried.

Simon didn't want to tell, and yet he felt he could trust Max, even though he had only recently met him.

"I...lied on my application to Starfleet" he confessed. "I said I was a quarter Vulcan...when I'm a quarter Romulan." He hung his head in shame, reliving the dreadful moment he was exposed.

"I can understand why you said that" Max said thoughtfully. "People can be very quick to judge. I can vouch for that."

"You don't mind...that I carry Romulan blood I mean?" Simon asked, his face contorted with concern.

Max put his hand onto Simon's shoulder. "All I know, is that you were the only one who accepted my invitation tonight. That puts you pretty high up in my estimation."

Simon's apprehension melted. It impressed him how Max didn't seem to have any prejudice at all. It was a rare quality.

"When I joined you, you...you looked unhappy" Simon said cautiously. He wouldn't normally ask something like this of anyone, but he felt Max had already proved himself a friend. If Max had a problem, then he wanted to help him.

Max looked down. "It's my father" Max answered presently. "Nothing I do seems to please him. I... receieved a message from him, not long ago. You'd think he'd be proud but..." he couldn't finish the sentence, disappointment written all over his face.

"I'm sorry" Simon offered. "He _should_ be proud, that you were assigned here I mean."

Max looked down. It was just too painful at the moment to even think about. He wanted to change the subject.

"Look at us, Simon" Max said suddenly. "Our first day on board the finest starship in the business, adventure just around the corner, and here we are feeling sorry for ourselves. We should be celebrating!"

Simon was surprised by Max's sudden change, but presently replied

"I am excited about being on board. It's an amazing ship."

"Yeh, we're really lucky to be here. I was surprised though, to be chosen I mean."

"Me too" Simon agreed. "After what I did, I'm really grateful."

Max smirked. "Well, I suppose we must have done _something_ right."


End file.
